Texas' goal is to have Harden pitch 180 innings. If he only starts 30 games, that bullpen is going to be pretty busy in innings 7-9. And that's when their No. 1 or 2 works, folks (depending upon how you rank Harden and Scott Feldman).

Meanwhile, the Oakland Athletics' rotation includes two former All-Stars, Ben Sheets and Justin Duchscherer, who didn't pitch last year. And Duchscherer didn't make it out of the clubhouse on the first day of workouts because of a back injury.

And in Seattle, Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee look great as Seattle's top two starters, but the rest of the Mariners rotation looks to me like Spahn & Sain & three days of rain (or the alternative, Spahn & Burdette & etc.). It was actually two days of rain when the two Milwaukee Braves duos pitched, but I'm allowing for the modern five-man rotation.

The Angels' deep rotation of five actual, quality major-league starting pitchers will make the difference if the AL West race is close. And, who knows, they might make the difference in the playoffs, too.

There are multiple reasons why the Angels have not clinched the AL West yet, and most of them are wearing Texas Rangers uniforms.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram's fine columnist Randy Galloway takes a look at one who is not in uniform (Rangers president Nolan Ryan) and one who is (first-year pitching coach Mike Maddux), and their impact.

We'll use this space to take a look ourselves at another of the main culprits: Rangers right-hander Scott Feldman.

He is 16-4, with a 3.46 ERA and 1.23 WHIP after going 6-8/5.29/1.43 last season.

Feldman has won his past seven decisions since Aug. 2. In his past four starts, he has made Rangers history by allowing a total of one earned run over 26 1/3 innings and four victories.